Update, 6.30am London time:
If you're waking up, the headlines:
-It's the Lib Dems' night. They're making big gains, especially against Tories in the south. In Leave areas too
-It *is* a bad night for the Tories, don't let them tell you otherwise
-It's a bad night for Labour. No gains. 9th year Tory govt.— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 3, 2019
Brexit backlash delivers major gains for Lib Dems in local elections https://t.co/g0kvmi6bu3
— Guardian politics (@GdnPolitics) May 3, 2019
#LocalElections2019 so far:
▪️ Main parties hit by #Brexit backlash
▪️ Lib Dems make gains
▪️ Greens & independents do well
▪️ More counts start 0900▪️ Text updates https://t.co/KjBEM4Aknh
▪️ Results map https://t.co/NfflBhxMpy
▪️ Latest results 📊⬇️#LE2019 pic.twitter.com/hBRxcUUyos— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 3, 2019
Tories and Labour punished by voters over Brexit with big gains for the Lib Dems https://t.co/nAArIOCxg3
— The Independent (@Independent) May 3, 2019
If Brexit Party/UKIP were doing as well as the Lib Dems/Greens are doing we'd be saying the public were sending a clear Brexit message to Westminster. Not sure why we should automatically think they're not just because it's the remainer parties doing well.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 3, 2019
Earlier:
Early results show both Labour and Tories losing ground
Polls have closed in local elections in England and Northern Ireland
▪️ Results expected from midnight
▪️ Key updates: @bbcpolitics
▪️ All results & graphs: @bbcelection
▪️ Text updates: https://t.co/ipBsLIPsCC#LocalElection2019 #LE19 pic.twitter.com/FW3Qhkitm2— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 2, 2019
These local results won’t give us a beautifully clear crystal ball revealing the future – but they are real verdicts on what’s happening in villages, towns and cities and Westminster https://t.co/qI1JN1WApp
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 2, 2019
Washington is not a hotbed of the woke left. I wonder if the Greens are going to have a good night. https://t.co/g8kCIxbdrF
— Rachel Wearmouth (@REWearmouth) May 2, 2019
💚 A thing might be happening. Worth staying up past your bedtime to check #LE2019 https://t.co/nJnYiiZq5q
— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) May 2, 2019
A gentle reminder, re: Sunderland results that a Labour councillor had to stand down having been convicted of child sexual offences so we expect them to do worse than elsewhere tonight: https://t.co/D5zOkoOkeJ
— Stephen Bush (@stephenkb) May 2, 2019
As I left the polling station this evening, I met the local Tory candidate on the way in. Bedecked in his blue rosette, a rubicund pinstriped shortarse who bade me good evening with Coxian pomposity.
It took all I possessed not to tell him to go fuck himself.
— Elinor Elliot #FBPE (@ElliotElinor) May 2, 2019
A message for people trying to tweet what the local election results mean this early in the night: pic.twitter.com/kFHnYnXt5K
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) May 2, 2019
Willing to bet that a fair few Ulster gammons were cheering this until the "if Ireland is a problem, give it back to the Irish, let them have it, they don't want to be part of us anyway" bit.https://t.co/NDZtIXBRtX
— LAD (@LADFLEG) May 2, 2019
Tommy Robinson doused in milkshake for second time in two days https://t.co/rDV4EpqBID
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 2, 2019
In the all-too-real world….
4,000 Bombardier jobs now in peril in Belfast.
The DUP will bear direct responsibility for every job lost.
Their irrational attachment to Brexit leave them blind to the material impact of leaving the EU on Northern Ireland.https://t.co/3VjVMjciHm— John O'Brennan (@JohnOBrennan2) May 2, 2019
Good work from @EmmaVardyTV on @BBCNews
Lots of questions. No answers. https://t.co/P28Kai73Ce— Patrick Corrigan (@PatrickCorrigan) May 2, 2019
Finally…
Two journalists were arrested by armed police under the Official Secrets Act in Northern Ireland last year after exposing police collusion in the Loughinisland murders. But Downing Street says Gavin Williamson’s national security breach is a “closed matter”.
— Sean O'Neill (@TimesONeill) May 2, 2019
***
TRUMPWORLD
This is what oversight looks like 👇👇pic.twitter.com/VCuKwJ6mDN
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 2, 2019
New Column on Barr Testimony: The GOP’s Just a Racket Now, and Trump Is Its Godfather, Barr Its Wartime Consigliere https://t.co/uy2Asc6QOe via @thedailybeast
— Michael Tomasky (@mtomasky) May 1, 2019
Literally within two hours of Moore telling everyone POTUS was sticking with him, Trump pulls plug. https://t.co/NuYPckxe0Z
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 2, 2019
Trump has rolled back safety rules meant to prevent another Deepwater Horizon spill.
The weakened regulation favors the oil and gas industry, which will save an estimated $980 million over a decade, administration officials say. https://t.co/FvuEPMFfOA
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 2, 2019
EXCLUSIVE: State Department allowed at least seven foreign governments to rent condominiums in New York’s Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, a potential violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause https://t.co/JtS24MtNk8 @JuliaHarte1 pic.twitter.com/DN1MGmurry
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 2, 2019
There's always an alternate view. Editorial cartoon by Joe Heller for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. cc: @ddale8 @GlennKesslerWP pic.twitter.com/8s8sB0haoq
— David Beard (@dabeard) May 2, 2019
Navy sailors instructed by the Command Master Chief to "clap like we're at a strip club" for Pence arrival. Brass hasten to apologize, saying that "This statement was inappropriate"…presumably because it's insulting to strip clubs.https://t.co/vBTZbDvxPD
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 2, 2019
And…
Good morning, @Franklin_Graham pic.twitter.com/mgTFHgD95H
— andy lassner (@andylassner) May 2, 2019
***
WORLD
Facebook and Instagram ban ‘dangerous individuals’ including Alex Jones https://t.co/M4CvWEm2gc via @IrishTimesBiz
— Irish Times Business (@IrishTimesBiz) May 2, 2019
Atlantic, the Verge, CNN, and Washington Post posted this story within a minute of each other and the Atlantic has a complicated photoshop of the people banned—this is weird news for FB to release under embargo! https://t.co/sXA3x0kyc5
— Jason Koebler (@jason_koebler) May 2, 2019
Israel comes to a standstill with a two-minute siren wailing across the country in remembrance of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. https://t.co/dVUR96NWIT pic.twitter.com/LBICcwpV32
— ABC News (@ABC) May 2, 2019
Big news in #HIVAIDS research.
Study finds “men whose HIV infection was fully suppressed by antiretroviral drugs had no chance of infecting their partner.” #LGBTQ https://t.co/Rg5VjNdXPZ— Nick Logan (@nick_logan) May 2, 2019
The unsustainable is a financial bubble.
A survey of 39 fund managers managing $10.2 trillion finds 24% think "oil companies should shut themselves down because soon they will become impossible to invest in as the world switches to renewable energy."https://t.co/GBq5ZWcd46
— Alex Steffen (@AlexSteffen) May 2, 2019
and…
Iconic character actor Peter Mayhew, best known as Chewbacca, has passed away. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. Thank you for helping to change sci-fi forever.
May the force be with you, always. pic.twitter.com/H4ztCAbS1y
— Midtown Comics (@MidtownComics) May 2, 2019